Trouba out 6-8 weeks with lower-body injury

WINNIPEG - Already without star centre Mark Scheifele for the past four-and-a-half weeks, the Winnipeg Jets have been dealt another tough blow on the injury front.
Jacob Trouba suffered a lower-body injury in last Thursday's game against the Anaheim Ducks and will miss the next six-to-eight weeks of action, Head Coach Paul Maurice announced Monday.

For now, in Trouba's absence, Tyler Myers will join Josh Morrissey on the No. 1 unit. The second pairing of Toby Enstrom and Dustin Byfuglien will stay intact, and rookie Tucker Poolman will draw back in alongside Ben Chiarot to round things out the back end.
(Dmitry Kulikov [upper body] skated prior to Monday's practice and is improving after being run from behind by Sharks forward Tomas Hertl in last Tuesday's game in San Jose.)

"Everyone on the back end has played with a lot of different partners throughout my time here," Myers said. "We're pretty used to switching things up. It's just a matter of talking things out and getting used to each other as quick as we can.
"Josh has really solidified himself as a really good defenceman in this league. One thing that really stands out with him is his skating; his skating his so good. We'll try and use each other as much as we can, help each other out - especially coming out of the zone - and communicate as much as possible."
Morrissey is equally confident he and the 6-foot-8, fleet-of-foot Myers will make an effective top pairing. And considering both are averaging around the same 20 minutes per game in average ice time, workload is definitely not a concern.

"The left-handed D on this team are pretty lucky with the kind of partners we get," he said. "(Myers) is a great skater, he's a big guy, obviously, and has a lot of skill. It will be fun to play with him. He's a great player, too, so you can't go wrong.
"It's tough to see (Trouba) go down. He's been playing great hockey all year, and especially lately, he's been outstanding. We've played pretty much the whole year together, but the rest of us as a group have to step up and take some of those minutes on. … It's never easy to see, but he's going to get better fast and we're going to do what we can to hold down the fort while he's gone."
ON ANOTHER NOTE…
It wasn't all bad news for the Jets on Monday, as Adam Lowry - who quietly shed the non-contact jersey late last week - was back centering the third line between Andrew Copp and Joel Armia. Lowry has missed the past eight games with an upper-body injury suffered on Jan. 7, but is "probable" for Tuesday's tilt with the Atlantic Division-leading Tampa Bay Lightning.
"I feel good. It was nice to be back get some bumping in," Lowry said. "It's taken a while for this thing to feel better, but I'm looking forward to getting back in the lineup. Barring any setbacks, I should be able to play (Tuesday)."

Lowry, who's quickly become one of the most thoughtful quotes in the Winnipeg locker room, is confident in the team's ability to rally in the wake of losing another top-flight player due to injury.
"You look at what we've been able to do with Mark out of the lineup - you lose your No. 1 centre, and he was having an All-Star campaign. He goes down, (Blake Wheeler) slots in the middle and our team keeps rolling. Then we lose a few more guys, so we call up Jack (Roslovic), Brendan (Lemieux); other guys get opportunities and play more minutes. … Guys have done a remarkable job filling in. It shows the benefit of having such a deep group, as the injuries become a little less impactful. Obviously, you miss your top centre man and we're going to miss Jacob coming up here, too, but having guys that are able to step in and help fill those roles certainly helps."
Scheifele, meanwhile, skated for the second straight day on his own. There is currently no timeline on when he'll officially rejoin practice, but Maurice did confirm he is right on track and within the projected six-to-eight-week recovery time.
Scheifele was injured on Dec. 27 and has missed the past 12 games, or 34 days. If he stays on schedule, the 24-year-old could, theoretically, return about halfway through the Jets' upcoming 10-game home stand.
For now, though, the forward line combinations and D pairs looked as follows as Monday's practice.
Laine - Wheeler - Roslovic
Perreault - Little - Ehlers
Copp - Lowry - Armia
Tanev - Hendricks - Connor/Dano
Morrissey - Myers
Enstrom - Byfuglien
Chiarot - Poolman
Eric Comrie was recalled from the Manitoba Moose earlier in the day and was the only goaltender on the ice, with Connor Hellebuyck getting the day off. Maurice indicated last week that after starting 12 straight games and appearing in the NHL All-Star festivities over the weekend, Hellebuyck would not play on Tuesday against the Lightning.
Michael Hutchinson will be recalled and will get the start in goal - his first of the season.
Hutchinson, who has a .942 save percentage and a 1.95 goals-against average with the Manitoba Moose this season, will play in the AHL All-Star Game tonight in Utica, New York, before flying back to Winnipeg in the morning.
Steve Mason (concussion) is not ready to start skating yet, but is "getting better," according to the coach. Ditto Shawn Matthias, who is week-to-week with an upper-body injury.
- Ryan Dittrick, WinnipegJets.com